Pupil center determination recorder

ABSTRACT

A pupil center determination recorder comprising a guide main body  100  attached to a frame of glasses, a pair of adjusters  200  movably attached to the guide main body  100  and pointers  300  respectively attached to the pair of adjusters  200 , wherein the pointer  300  has a first marking section  340 A for marking the respective objective pupil centers measured by a measurer of the right and left pupils of a test subject on dummy lenses attached to the frame of the glasses worn by the subject, a second marking section  340 B for showing identical marks  342 B in front of the subject&#39;s right and left pupils and a third marking section  340 C for marking by moving adjusters  200  such that the identical marks look like overlapping each other and at a position where the identical marks  342 B appear to be superimposed; wherein the first, the second, and the third marking sections can move on the same circumference and be fixed at the same position.

CROSS-REFERENCED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National phase of International ApplicationPCT/JP01/00804, filed 5 Feb. 2001 which designated the U.S. and thatInternational Application was published not under PCT Article 21(2) inEnglish.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a pupil center determination recorder to makeagree the optical center of a lens with the pupil center of a spectacleduser in making the glasses.

DISCLOSURE OF THE PRIOR ART

The major components of glasses are a frame and lenses. A frame ismainly selected in view of its fashionability, while lenses are selectedin accordance with user's eyesight. The most important thing in makingglasses is to make the optical center of each lens agree with user'spupil center. The deviation of the optical center from the pupil centerexhibits no performance even if the lenses meet the eyesight, resultingin shoulder stiffness or systemic fatigue, in the worst case, pathologicconditions including heterotopias.

The biggest factor of the deviation of the optical center from the pupilcenter in glasses is that the optical center of each lens is adjusted toan average position of the pupil center in spite of the fact that eachuser has a different face shape, namely the position of the pupil centervaries according to users.

As stated in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-47481 (No.47481/96), a device to make the optical center agree with the pupilcenter has been already proposed. It is designed to decide the center ofthe pupils in a frame by inputting the image of a user wearing the framefor deciding the coordinate of the pupil center.

In this method, however, the measurer determines the coordinates of thepupil center as the pupil center of the user (subject). Accordingly, inmany cases, the position deviates from the position considered to be thetrue pupil center by the subject.

The true pupil center regarded by the subject means the pupil centers ofthe both eyes when the subject looks at a distant view 2-3 meters awayfrom him and the same marks shown in front of both eyes are overlappedeach other. Thus, the position regarded as the pupil center by themeasurer is named an objective pupil center, while the position regardedas the pupil center by the subject is named a subjective pupil center.Explanation of them are made in the following:

Since about 5-6 mm deviation often exists between the objective pupilcenter and the subjective pupil center, it is not possible to makeglasses on the basis of the subjective pupil center by the method statedin above mentioned official gazette.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention has been originated from the viewpoint of the abovecircumstances.

An object of the invention is to provide a pupil center determinationrecorder, which verifies the pupil center by consideration of theobjective pupil center and the subjective pupil center to make the pupilcenter agree with the optical center of lenses.

A pupil center determination recorder of the present invention canaccomplish the above object.

The recorder comprises a guide main body to be attached to a frame ofglasses worn by a subject, a pair of adjusters movably attached to theguide main body, and pointers respectively attached to the pair ofadjusters, wherein the pointer has a first marking section for markingthe right pupil center and the left pupils center of the subjectmeasured by a measurer on dummy lenses attached to the frame of theglasses worn by the subject, a second marking section for displayingidentical marks in front of the subject's right and left pupils and athird marking section for moving the adjusters so as to superimpose theidentical marks at least partially over each other and for marking theright pupil center and the left pupil center on the dummy lenses at aposition where the marks appear to be superimposed. The first, second,and third marking sections can move on the same circumference and befixed at the same position.

According to the invention, it is desirable that the center of the markshown by the second marking section is transparent one with ring shape.

The marking by the third marking section is carried out by sticking aseal with the same mark as that shown by the second marking section toeach dummy lens.

The invention is designed as described above and therefore exerts thefollowing effects.

The third marking section marks the subjective pupil center on eachdummy lens simply by verifying the objective pupil center in the firstmarking section, and by verifying the subjective pupil center in thesecond marking section. The result determines the pupil center afterconsidering the objective pupil center and the subjective pupil center.The use of the recorder prevents problems, including shoulder stiffness,systemic fatigue, caused by disagreement between the optical center andthe pupil center observed in conventional lenses. Easy adjustment ofglasses having disagreement between the optical center and the pupilcenter is possible, which contributes to elimination of the aboveproblems.

The center part of the mark exhibited by the second marking section isof a transparent ring-shape, accordingly easy verification for thesubjective pupil center is allowed.

The marking done by the third marking section readily allows repeatedmarking by sticking the seal having the same mark as that exhibited bythe second marking section to each dummy lens, verifying the pupilcenter more exactly.

Other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description ofembodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a recorder for verifying the pupilcenter embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating the clamp section of therecorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view illustrating the major section of theadjuster of the recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded perspective view of the pointer of therecorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of the seal used for the recorderembodying the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic front view of verification work for the pupilcenter by the use of the recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of verification work for pupil centerby the use of the recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front of view of verification work for pupilcenter by the use of the recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of verification work for thepupil center by the use of the recorder embodying the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic illustrational view of the principle of theverification work for the pupil center by the use of the recorderembodying the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustrational view applying an automatic refractmeter to the recorder embodying the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG.1 illustrates a schematic front view of a recorder for verifying thepupil center relating to the mode for carrying out the invention, FIG.2shows a schematic side new illustrating the clamp section of therecorder embodying the present invention, FIG. 3 indicates a schematicfront view illustrating the major section of the adjuster of therecorder embodying the present invention, FIG.4 illustrates a schematicexploded perspective view of the pointer of the reorder embodying thepresent invention, and FIG.5 shows a schematic plan view of the sealused for the recorder embodying the present invention.

The schematic front view indicating the verification work of the pupilcenter by using the recorder embodying the present invention is shown inFIGS. 6, 7 and 8, respectively. A schematic perspective view indicatingthe verification work of the pupil center by using the recorderembodying the present invention is shown in FIG. 9. A schematicexplanation view indicating the principle of the verification work ofthe pupil center by using the recorder embodying the present inventionis shown in FIG.10. A schematic explanation view of applying therecorder of the present invention to an auto refract meter is shown inFIG. 11.

The recorder for verifying the pupil center embodying the presentinvention comprises a guide main body 100 attached to the frame 900 ofglasses worn by a subject P1 to be inspected, a pair of adjusters 200movably attached to the guide main body 100, and pointers 300 attachedto the pair of adjusters 200. The pointer 300 has a first markingsection 340A for marking the respective pupil centers (the objectivepupil center El) of right and left pupils E of the subject P1 observedby an observer P2 on dummy lenses 920 attached to the frame 900 of thesubject's glasses, a second marking section 340B showing the same mark342B in front of the right and left pupils E of the subject P1, and athird marking section 340C for moving the adjuster 200 to superimpose atleast partially the same marks 342B and for carrying out markingexhibiting the respective pupil centers (subjective pupil center E2) ofthe right and left pupils E on the associated dummy lenses 920. Thefirst,second and third marking section 340A, 340B, 340C, respectively,move on the same circumference to fix at the same position.

The guide main body 100 has a pair of clamp sections 110 to be attachedto the frame 900 of the glasses. Each clamp section 110 is designed tovertically hold a rim 910 of a frame 900.

Each clamp section 110 has a clamp side shaft 111 having a stationarypart 111A at its lower end and a clamp side shaft fixing section 112 forfixing the clamp section 110 to the rim 910 with the clamp side shaft111 penetrating through the clamp side shaft fixing section 112. Eachcamp side shaft fixing section 112 has a blocked clamp side mobile part112A having a through hole 112 a into which the clamp side shaft 111penetrates and a screw section 112 b screwed in the clamp side mobilepart 112A with its tip end reaching the through hole 112 a. The clampside mobile part 112A is provided at its lower end with a downward upperside claw section 112 c

The stationary part 111A has an upward lower side clamp claw section 111c at its upper end. The stationary part 111A is provided with a screwpart 111 b for moving the lower side claw section 111 c.

The frame rim 910 and also the frame 900 are fixed to each lens bygrasping the rim 910 with both claw section 111 c and 112 c, by movingthe clamp side mobile part 112A along the clamp side shaft 111, and thenby fixing the clamp side shaft 111 through the use of the screw section112 b.

A pair of right and left clamp sections 110 are connected to each otherthrough a main shaft 120. A rack 121 is formed on the top surface of themain shaft 120. (See FIG.3). The rack 121 is used for moving theadjusters 200 in the right and the left directions.

In this way the guide main body 100 is roughly composed of a pair ofclamp sections 110 and the main shaft 120 for connecting the pair ofclamp sections 110 to each other like a gate shape.

As shown in FIG.3, each adjuster 200 has a blocked adjuster side mobilepart 210 having a horizontally penetrated horizontal though hole 211 anda vertically penetrated vertical through hole 212, a horizontal pinionsection 220 rotationally movably attached to the adjuster side mobilepart 210 with its tooth section being exposed to the horizontal throughhole 211, a vertical pinion section 230 with its tooth section beingexposed to the vertical through hole 212 and an adjuster side shaft 240inserted in the vertical through hole 212.

The man shaft 120 is penetrated through horizontal through hole 211 ofthe adjuster side mobile part 210 to engage the tooth section of thehorizontal pinion section 220 with the rack 121 of the main shaft 120.It the horizontal pinion section 220 is turned, the adjuster side mobilepart 210 moves in the transverse direction along the main shaft 120.

A rack 241 is formed on the adjuster side shaft 240. The rack 241 isengaged with the tooth section of the vertical pinion section 230. Ifthe vertical pinion section 230 is turned, the adjuster side shaft 240moves in the vertical direction.

Each pointer 300 has a generally ring-shaped frame section 310 providedon a tip end of the adjuster side shaft 240, a hub section 320rotationally movably engaged with the interior of the frame section 310,outwardly projecting three arms 330A, 330B, 330C provided on the hubsection 320 and outwardly projected with the hub section 320 beingengaged with the frame section 310, and a first marking section 340A, asecond marking section 340B and a third marking section 340C provided ontip ends of the arm sections 330A, 330B, 333C, respectively.

An interior of the frame section 310 has small balls 311 inwardlyelastically biased by internal springs respectively. Three recesses (notshown in a drawing) are formed at 45 degree-intervals in the outerperiphery of each arm section 330A-, 330B-, 330C-free side of the hubsection 320. Engaging the small balls 311 with recesses, respectivelyanchors the rotationally moving position of the hub section 320 in theframe section 310.

The hub section 320 has portions protruded from the frame section 310even if the hub section 320 is engaged with the frame section 310. Thethree arm sections 330A, 330B, 330C are protruded and formed at 45degree-intervals at the portions. The three arm sections 330A, 330B,330C are equal in length. The hub section 320 is provided with a knob321 held with a hand in rotationally moving the hub section 320.

The uppermost arm section 330A is provided at its tip end with the firstmarking section 340. The first marking section 340A is of a ring shapehaving an opening 341A, of such a size that an measurer P2 may verifythe pupil center (objective pupil center El) of each pupil E of thesubject P1.

The central arm section 330B is provided at its tip end with the sectionmarking section 340B. The second marking section 340B is of a generallyring shape and has an opening 341B with the same size as that of thefirst marking section 340A. The opening 341B is provided with a mark342B having a transparent center and an orange ring-like periphery.

The lowermost arm section 330C is provided at its tip end with the thirdmarking section 340C. As shown in FIG.5, the third marking section 340Chas a seal 342C having the same pattern, namely a transparent center andan orange periphery, as those of the mark 342B. The seal 342C has aprinted crisscross reticule 342D serving as a guide to verify thesubjective pupil center E2.

As mentioned above, the three arm sections, 330A, 330B, 330C are equalin length and are formed at 45-degree intervals like the three recessesin the frame section 310. Thus, if the hub section 320 is turned, theymove on the same circumference and they can be fixed at the sameposition.

Now, explanation is made to work for verifying the pupil center by theuse of the recorder having the above configuration.

Firstly, the frame 900 of the glasses selected by the subject P1 isattached to the guide main body 100 of the recorder. Namely, the frame900 is clamped by the use of the clamp section 110. Upwardly anddownwardly holding the rim 910 of the frame 900 with the aid of theupper side claw section 112c and the lower side claw section 111 c ofthe clamp section 110 fixes the frame 900 to the guide main body 100.Each dummy lens 920 is previously attached to the rims 910 of the frame900.

Secondary, as shown FIG.9, the subject P1 wears the frame 900 on whichthe recorder is fixed through the guide main body 100. It is importantto wear the frame 900 at the same position as that used for ordinaryspectacle application.

As shown in FIG.6, the hub section 320 of the pointer 300 is turned todirect the arm section 330A having the first marking section 340Ahorizontally. As shown in FIG. 10(A), if the adjuster 200 is adjustedvertically and laterally to bring the first marking section 340Aobserved from the measurer P2 side into agreement with the pupil centerE1 (objective pupil center) of each pupil E. Marking M in white ink isapplied to each dummy lens 910 through the opening 341A of the firstmarking section 340A. The marking M is applied to the right and the leftpupils.

Finally as shown in FIG. 7, the hub section 320 of the pointer 300 isturned to horizontally set the arm section 330B having the secondmarking section 340B. The first marking section 340A and the secondmarking section 340B are designed to move on the same circumference, andthese sections are fixed at the same position. This makes the positionof the opening 341B of the second marking section 340A agree with theposition of the opening 341A of the first marking section 340A.Consequently, the opening 341B of the second marking section 340B agreeswith the marking in white ink.

The subject P1 looks at a distant view, 2-3 meters or longer in thisstate. If the objective pupil center E1 coincides with the subjectivepupil center E2, the marks 342B provided on the pair of second markingsections 340B, respectively, should be superposed. If the marks 342B arenot superimposed on each other, the two adjusters 200 are horizontallyor vertically moved such that they are superimposed on (over) eachother. The position where the marks 342B are superimposed over thesubjective pupil center E2. (See FIG. 19 (B)).

The adjuster section 200 is fixed at the position where marks 342 aresuperposed. In this state, the second marking section 340B is replacedwith the third marking section 340C. (See FIG. 8). As shown in FIG.10(C), seals 342C provided on the third marking section 340C are stuckto the right and the left dummy lenses 920 respectively. The seal342C-stuck position is the subjective pupil center E2.

Coordinates (the coordinates of the subjective pupil center E2) at therim 910 of the frame 900 at the transparent center of the seal 342Cstuck to each dummy lens 920 are measured. The coordinates can bemeasured using conventional charts. The resulting coordinate data is fedto lens-finishing equipment. The lens is finished such that the opticalcenter of the finished lens agrees with the coordinates. The opticalcenter of the lens surely agrees with the subjective pupil center E2 ofthe subject P1.

Although the present invention is applied to the frame of the lens inthis embodiment, the invention can also be applied to a contact lens andto measurement for a squint.

A bifocal lens has and optical center for a distant view and an opticalcenter for a near view. The use of the recorder permits easy agreementof both optical centers and the respective pupil centers.

Explanation is made on the application of the recorder to an automaticrefract meter AR.

The automatic refract meter AR automatically detects the refractiveindex and the objective pupil center of each pupil E of the subject P1by irradiating each pupil E of the subject P1 with an infrared beam andthen by detecting its reflection. The automatic refract meter AR has astand AR1 on which the jaw of the subject P1 is placed, a movingmechanism (not shown in a drawing) for horizontally and verticallymoving the stand AR1 in four directions, an irradiation section (notshown in a drawing) for irradiating each pupil E of the subject P1 withthe infrared beam, an arithmetic section (not shown in a drawing) forcomputing the refractive index of each pupil E with the aid of theinfrared beam reflected from each pupil E, an image pick-up section AR2for picking up the image of the pupil E of the subject P1, with the jawof the subject P1 placed on the stand AR1 and a display section (notshown in a drawing), including a CRT for displaying each pupil E imagedby means of the image pick-up section AR2.

The recorder is installed on the automatic refract meter AR. As shown inFIG.11, the seal 342C has been designed to be stuck to each dummy lens920 attached to the fame 990 of the user's glasses. The casing of theautomatic refract meter AR at its upper part has a rod section 800capable of advancing/retreating to/from each dummy lens 920, a sealsticking section 810 provided at the tip end of the arm section 800, anda seal 342C attached to the seal sticking section 810.

When the objective pupil center E1 is verified by means of the automaticrefract meter AR, the stand AR1 is then fixed to the jaw of the subjectP1. The rod section 800 is pressed against the subject P1. Finally, theseal 342C attached to the seal sticking section 810 is stuck to a dummylens 920. The above are applied to the right and the left pupils E.

In this state, the jaw of the subject P1 is removed from the stand AR1.Verification is made to assure that the seals 342C stuck to the rightand the left dummy lenses 920 are superposed. When the result ispositive, each objective pupil center E1 agrees with each subjectivepupil center E2. The measurement for measuring the coordinate (thecoordinate of the subjective pupil center E2) in the rim 910 of theframe 900 at the center thereof in the transparent seal 342C area isavailable by the user of a conventional chart. The resulting coordinatedata is fed to the lens-finishing equipment to finish each lens in sucha manner that the optical center of the finished lens may agree with thecoordinate.

The negative result means disagreement between the objective pupilcenter E1 and the subjective pupil center E2. Where, the adjuster 200 ismoved in the right and the left direction to make the subjective pupilcenter E2 agree with the objective pupil center El. The work afterverifying the agreement of the subjective pupil center E2 is the same asthe work mentioned above.

The application of the recorder to the automatic refract meter ARenables exact and prompt agreement of the objective pupil center E1 andthe subjective pupil center E2. The same is true for the verification ofthe subjective pupil center E2.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pupil center determination recorder comprising:a guide main body to be attached to a frame of glasses worn by asubject, a pair of adjusters movably attached to the guide main body andpointers respectively attached to the pair of adjusters, wherein thepointer has a first marking section for marking the right pupil centerand the left pupil center of the subject measured by a measurer on dummylenses attached to the frame of the glasses worn by the subject; asecond marking section for showing identical marks in front of thesubject's right and left pupils; and a third marking section for movingthe adjusters so as to superimpose the identical marks sufficiently overeach other and for marking the right pupil center and the left pupilcenter on the dummy lenses at a position where the marks appear to besuperimposed; wherein the first, second, and third marking sections canmove on the same circumference and be fixed at the same position.
 2. Apupil center determination recorder according to claim 1, wherein thecenter of the mark shown by the second marking section is transparentand has a ring shape.
 3. A pupil center determination recorder accordingto claim 2, wherein the marking by the third marking section is carriedout by sticking a seal having the same mark as that shown by the secondmarking section to respective dummy lenses.